Composite demountable metal and wood shelving



Sept. 12, 1967 H. MACKIN, JR, ETAL COMPOSITE DEMOUNTABLE METAL AND WOOD SHELVING Filed Sept. 50, 1965 INVENTORS.

United States Patent 3,341,027 COMPOSITE DEMOUNTABLE METAL AND WOOD SHELVING Henry Mackin, Jr., James F. Mackin, and Robert Mackin, Momence, Ill., assignors to Mackin Venetian Blind Co., Momence, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Sept. 30, 1965, Ser. No. 491,615 7 Claims. (Cl. 211-148) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to composite demountable metal and wood shelving and includes an arrangement where a relatively light, stiff, non-resonant wood shelf is removably mounted on stiff, light, strong, vertical, metal columns by means of a plurality of manually actuated metal latches, permanently mounted on the wood shelf.

This invention relates to improvements in composite demountable metal and wood shelving. An object of the invention is to combine in one apparatus the rigidity and appearance of wooden shelving with the strength and easy mountability of metal shelving.

It is well known that wooden shelving is handsomer, quieter and pound for pound safer than metal shelving. It is also true that breakdown wooden shelving i more difficult to assemble and that metal shelving can be more easily packed, shipped, installed and demounted than wooden shelving. It is also well known that wooden shelving lends itself to a wider range of size variation than does metal shelving.

Other objects will appear from time to time throughout the specification and claims.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the assembled composite shelving;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged exploded corner view of a wooden shelf;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged section along the line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

Like parts are indicated by the like characters throughout the specification and drawing.

The shelving assembly includes vertical front channels 1 and rear channels 2, these being a pair of such metallic channels or legs to support a stack of preferably wooden shelves 3. The front channels are open to the rear, the rear channels are open to the front though they might be reversed. The opposed flanges of all the channel are apertured at 4. The front and rear channels of each pair are held together by cross channels 5 and 6. These cross channels engage the vertical channels and may be welded or bolted in place or may be demountable. Preferably they are welded in place so that each pair of front and rear legs or channels lie flat for easy packaging and shipment. The two back channels of each stack may be tied or joined together by cross braces 7 which may be suitably assembled and held together by welding, bolting or other connecting means where they intersect and removably fastened to the back channels. There may be any number of cross braces to hold the adjacent pairs of rear legs or channels in parallelism.

Each wooden shelf is bounded at its ends by an angle piece 8 which bounds the end of the shelf and has a flat plate 9 which extends parallel to the bottom of the shelf being fastened thereto for example by screws at 10. The plate extends the full width of the shelf and is co-extensive with the end thereof.

Downwardly depressed from each end of the plate '9 is an integral yoke 11, these yokes being in register, when the structure is assembled with the spaced apertures 4 in the front and rear legs or channels. Each yoke contains a clip 13. In assembling the clip is pushed forward into the position shown in FIGURE 3, penetrating the aperture 4 so as to interlock with the column. The clip is held in place by the yoke 11 and thus supports the shelf front and rear.

The clip 13 terminates at one end in a leg penetrating lug 14 downwardly and preferably slightly outwardly inclined from the clip when the shelf is about to be assembled with the legs. The slightly inclined lug 14 earns the end bracket 8 onto close contact with the channel and thus insures a rigid contact over an extended width of shelf and against the vertical column gives an especially rigid shelf and leg assembly. The outward excursion of clip 13 is positively limited by the embossment 21 so that this camming action is entirely effective to clamp shelf against the column. I

The inboard end of the clip terminates in a widened handle lug 20 which may engage the inboard side of the yoke to limit outward movement of the clip toward the leg. The clip between its ends is embossed at 21, the purpose of this boss being to prevent the clip from falling out of the yoke. In assembly, the clip is forced into place and this is possible because of the spring of the metal but having been assembled, the clip is held loosely in place so that it cannot fall out and so that it can be easily handled. The lug 20 being downwardly inclined from the shelf makes it easy to manipulate the clip.

For assembly of the shelves, once the opposed pairs of front and rear lugs are in place with the cross braces attached, each self is assembled by placing it between the opposed pairs of front and rear legs with the clip 13 withdrawn. Then the shelf is moved up or down as the case may be to permit the leg engaging or locking flange 14 of the clip to enter the aperature 4.

The clip is then pushed forward into the position shown in FIGURE 3 so as to penetrate and interlock with the aperture 4. The shelf is then moved down into the locked position shown in FIGURE 3. To disassemble, all that is necessary is to raise the shelf up until the member 14 can be withdrawn from the aperture 4.

In order to enhance the appearance of the device, the shelf 3 may be grooved at front and if desired at rear as at 15. A T-shaped metal or plastic molding 16 is driven into the slot 15, the shank of the molding being toothed as at 17 to hold it in place.

The shelves are ordinarily assembled in advance with the molding in place, the angle in place and the clips withdrawn. A pile of shelves may be shipped with a plurality of front pairs or front and rear lugs with the necessary number of cross braces.

It will be noted that each leg is apertured on both sides. This makes it possible to build up a series of stacks because there is ample room in each of the U-shaped columns to engage a shelf on the opposite side. When this is done each pair of front and rear sections will be tied together and each pair of front and rear sections except the end bars will support two opposed but out of contact shelves. There is thus a clearance within the upright legs or channels between each opposed pair of shelves. The space, however, is so small that it does not in any way interfere with the appearance of the device and is so small that whether books or tools or other things are kept on the shelf, there is no need for closing that space.

While I have shown metal frame and wooden shelves, in one exemplification metal shelves might be used. The bracing, the spacing, the method of assembling or manufacturing the legs or channels are conventional and in fact instead of channels, tubing might be used or even angle iron or under some circumstances fiat plates.

While there is illustrated but a single pair of legs with shelves, a multiplicity of legs and shelves might be assembled and a multiplicity of cross braces might well be used when desired. It is entirely possible to provide merely the metal parts, namely the legs, cross braces, the horizontal plate with or without the angle and under those circumstances the wood shelves might be separately provided and fastened to the plate which carries the clip or slide for assembly by the purchaser. Feet on the bottom of the channels or legs are not illustrated since they may or may not be used depending upon the type of surface on which the legs stand. As an alternative metal plates or other types of metal shelves might be used resting upon the horizontal apertured slide carrying shelf supporting means.

We claim:

1. A demountable shelving structure including opposed pairs of connected front and rear vertically disposed parallel apertured channel shaped metal columns, shelves supported between each pair of front and rear columns, metal angle pieces bounding the opposite ends of each shelf, including a plate extending horizontally beneath and in contact with the lower side of the shelf, a clip interlocking with and slidably movable on the plate having a downwardly extending flange or lug of such size as to penetrate the aperture in the column and interlock with 1:,

the apertures in the columns being located on both flanges of the channel column.

2. A demountable shelving structure including opposed pairs of connected front and rear vertically disposed parallel apertured channel shaped metal columns, shelves supported between each pair of connected front and rear columns, metal angle pieces bounding the opposite ends of each shelf, including a plate extending horizontally beneath and in contact with the lower side of the shelf, a clip interlocking with and slidably movable on the plate having a downwardly extending flange or lug of such size as to penetrate the aperture in the column and interlock with it,

the apertures in the columns being located on both flanges of the channel column,

the width of each channel column 'being such as to permit lugs associated with the shelves on opposite sides of each pair to interlock in opposition without interference.

3. A demountable shelving structure including opposed pairs of connected front and rear vertically disposed parallel apertured channel shaped metal columns, shelves supported between each pair of front and rear columns, metal angle pieces bounding the opposite ends of each shelf, including a plate extending horizontally beneath and in contact with the lower Side of the shelf, a clip interlocking with and slidably movable on the plate and having a downwardly extending flange or lug of such size as to penetrate the aperture in the column and interlock with it,

the shelf being grooved along opposite edges perpendicular to the angle pieces, a selvage member having a T-shaped serrate lug penetrating and interlocking with the groove and extending from end to end of the shelf.

4. In a demountable structure, a vertically disposed apertured leg, a flat apertured plate, an integral yoke downwardly offset from the flat plate in register with the aperture therein, a clip comprising a fiat strip of such width and thickness as to be snugly and slidably received and held by the yoke between it and the flat plate, the clip being downwardly flanged away from the plate at each end thereof, one end of the clip being wider than the body of the clip, the length of the clip being such that when such wide end contacts the yoke, the flange at the other end of the clip projects beyond the edge of the plate to penetrate and interlock with the aperture in the leg.

5. In a demountable structure, a vertically disposed apertured leg, a flat apertured plate, an integral yoke downwardly offset from the flat plate in register with the aperture therein, a clip comprising a flat strip of such width and thickness as to be snugly and slidably received and held by the yoke between it and the fiat plate, the clip being downwardly flanged away from the plate at each end thereof, one end of the clip being wider than the body of the clip, the length of the clip being such that when such wide end contacts the yoke, the flange at the other end of the clip projects beyond the edge of the plate to penetrate and interlock with the aperture in the leg.

means carried by the clip intermediate its ends to inhibit withdrawal of the clip from the yoke.

6. In a demountable shelving structure, a relatively thick wood shelf, a metal plate mounted on the under side of and adapted to support the shelf, a yoke integral with and downwardly depressed from the plate, a clip slidably received in said yoke and held between it and the under face of the plate, means at one end of the clip adapted to contact the yoke and limit movement of the clip therethrough, the length of the clip being such that when such contact is made, the clip extends beyond the plate and beyond the end of the shelf, an apertured vertical support member associated with the plate, the clip being downwardly flanged below the plate to interlock with the apertured vertical support member.

7. In a demountable shelving structure, a relatively thick wood shelf, a metal plate mounted on the under side of and adapted to support the shelf, a yoke integral with and downwardly depressed from the plate, a clip slidably received in said yoke and held between it and the under face of the plate, means at one end of the clip adapted to contact the yoke and limit movement of the clip therethrough, the length of the clip being such that when such contact is made, the clip extends beyond the plate, and beyond the end of the shelf the clip being downwardly flanged from the plate to interlock with an aperture in a vertical support member,

the clip being offset intermediate its ends, the resultant thickened portion of the clip inhibiting slidable movement of the clip with respect to the yoke in a direction away from the end of the shelf.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,411,260 4/1922 Baker et al. 108-107 1,776,580 9/1930 Deasy 292- 2,131,278 9/1938 Gough 261-94 3,042,473 7/ 1962 Vincens 312-257 3,168,365 2/1965 Evans 312-351 3,205,840 9/1965 Vincens 108-107 3,279,876 10/1966 St. Cyr 312-351 FOREIGN PATENTS 349,767 12/1960 Switzerland.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner. W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner, 

1. A DEMOUNTABLE SHELVING STRUCTURE INCLUDING OPPOSED PAIRS OF CONNECTED FRONT AND REAR VERTICALLY DISPOSED PARALLEL APERTURED CHANNEL SHAPED METAL COLUMNS, SHELVES SUPPORTED BETWEEN EACH PAIR OF FRONT AND REAR COLUMNS, METAL ANGLE PIECES BOUNDING THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF EACH SHELF, INCLUDING A PLATE EXTENDING HORIZONTALLY BENEATH AND IN CONTACT WITH THE LOWER SIDE OF THE SHELF, A CLIP INTERLOCKING WITH AND SLIDABLY MOVABLE ON THE PLATE HAVING A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING FLANGE OR LUG OF SUCH SIZE AS TO PENETRATE THE APERTURE IN THE COLUMN AND INTERLOCK WITH IT, 